Drama/Suspense: After discovering that her husband is an abusive and controlling wife beater, a woman repeatedly tries to escape and get herself and their young daughter to safety.

PLOT:

Slim (JENNIFER LOPEZ) seems to have the perfect life. After working at a diner with her friend Ginny (JULIETTE LEWIS), she's now married to Mitch Hiller (BILLY CAMPBELL) -- a successful and charming businessman who's so tenacious and wealthy that he can seemingly get whatever he wants -- and they have a cute, little daughter, Gracie (TESSA ALLEN).

Yet, things aren't as perfect as they seem. After several years, Slim not only learns that her husband has been having an affair, but that he's also an abusive and controlling wife beater who informs her that since he makes the money, he gets to set the ground rules.

Ginny tells Slim to run away, and after a while, she, Phil (CHRISTOPHER MAHER) and another man help her escape after another beating. Unbeknownst to her, however, Mitch immediately cancels her credit cards, freezes her accounts and quickly discerns where she's hiding. Stating that he can't live without her, Mitch comes after Slim and she and Gracie barely manage to escape.

Heading to Seattle, they meet up with her old friend Joe (DAN FUTTERMAN), but Mitch soon has some menacing thugs hot on her trail. Jupiter (FRED WARD), her successful but emotionally distant father, is of no help to her in San Francisco, so she and Gracie head to Michigan where they try to reinvent themselves so as to throw off Mitch's hounds.

One of them is Robbie (NOAH WYLE), a cop who Mitch manipulates into tracking her down once again. After meeting with a lawyer, Jim Toller (BILL COBBS), about her options, Slim decides to take matters into her own hands by training with a self-defense instructor (BRUCE A. YOUNG) who teaches her how to protect herself and handle Mitch should she encounter him again.

With Mitch then pressing for legal custody of Gracie, Slim is determined to set matters straight and handle her problem once and for all.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?

Fans of anyone in the cast may want to see it, as might anyone who likes suspense/thrillers, but the domestic abuse angle might turn off many kids.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13

For intense scenes of domestic violence, some sensuality and language.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:

JENNIFER LOPEZ plays a married mother who finds her life turned upside down when she learns that her husband is cheating on her as well as when he begins to physically and mentally abuse her. She then tries to flee for her and their child's safety and eventually is forced to take matters into her own hands to deal with him not wanting to let her go. She uses some profanity.

BILLY CAMPBELL plays her mentally and physically abusive husband who has various affairs, mentally and physically abuses her, and then is relentless in hunting her down when she tries to escape. He briefly uses some strong profanity.

TESSA ALLEN plays their young daughter who becomes ever more traumatized by witnessing all of the family strife and violence.

JULIETTE LEWIS plays Slim's best friend and former co-worker who does what she can to help her get out of her bad situation.

DAN FUTTERMAN plays another friend who tries to help her.

NOAH WYLE plays a corrupt cop who conspires with Mitch on various occasions.

FRED WARD plays Slim's emotionally distant and non-caring father who eventually comes around to help her.

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this dramatic thriller that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 1 "f" word, along with various other expletives and colorful phrases. Some sexually related dialogue is present, while a woman invites a man to her place to have sex (we don't see anything else). We do see another unmarried couple in bed (suggesting previous sex), while a wife offers to shower with her husband and starts to disrobe, but he states he's not interested.

That man is having an affair and he then turns into a mentally and physically abusive husband who beats his wife and tells her that's the way it's going to be (other bad attitudes are also present). All of that leads to extreme tense family scenes, as well as various violent encounters and more fighting (with some bloody results and one apparent death). Those scenes and others may be unsettling and suspenseful to some viewers.

If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

We hear Slim urinating and see her sitting on the toilet (torso and up), but don't see anything explicit.

Robbie has a tiny bit of blood on his head after crashing his truck.

Mitch's hand is bloody after falling through some glass and then has blood on his face and clothing as Slim (who has his blood on her) beats him up. Later, when he strikes her, she has some blood on her ear and neck.

Mitch turns out to be a mentally and physically abusive husband who beats Slim, has marital affairs (that he admits to, then says that men and women have different needs, and then adds that he's happy that he can now be honest with her about his affairs), tells her that's the way it's going to be (since he makes the money and thus sets the rules), and then repeatedly hunts her down when she tries to escape.

Slim goes to see Mitch's mother, but her reaction to the signs of physical abuse is asking Slim what she did to provoke Mitch.

Mitch calls Phil a "rug head."

Jupiter is Slim's biological father who initially has a bad and emotionally cold attitude toward her, but eventually comes around to helping her.

Robbie is a cop who's in cahoots with Mitch from the get-go, breaks the law to assist Mitch in finding Slim, and refers to her as a "bitch."

Some men working for Mitch pose as FBI agents, tear up Joe's place and threaten him and Jupiter.

Scenes listed under "Violence" (particularly those involving Mitch beating Slim) could be upsetting, unsettling and/or suspenseful to some viewers.

After punching her for the first time, Mitch returns to the house and acts somewhat menacingly toward Slim when she's on the phone.

With Ginny, Phil and another man waiting outside to drive her away, Slim tries to sneak out of the house with Gracie. This takes several minutes and ends with Mitch grabbing Slim by her hair and yanking her back. He then repeatedly kicks her on the ground, while Ginny and the men race toward the house with Phil using a baseball bat to break some glass to gain entry. They then find Slim on the floor, severely hurt and Mitch then holds a gun on all of them. He then fires a warning shot into the wall and then holds the gun to Phil's neck.

As Slim and Gracie seek refuge in a motel room, she then realizes that Mitch knows where they are and he's then at the door, trying to break it open. Slim races to grab Gracie and their stuff, and just gets out the sliding glass door as Mitch enters the room. He then chases her down the street with her getting on a city bus just in time to elude him.

Men posing as FBI agents search through Joe's place, looking for Slim and Gracie (who we know are there somewhere). After rummaging through his place, one of them puts a switchblade to Joe's neck and threatens to kill him.

After we see Robbie talking to Gracie, Slim suddenly realizes she's no longer in sight, and then panics and races around to find her (she does).

We see the point of view of someone making their way through Slim's house (but then see that it was just a nightmare). However, the next morning, the film gives us the impression that someone is in the house and Slim momentarily thinks someone is behind the shower curtain as she slowly approaches it (no one is).

Mitch slams Slim from wall to wall and says that if he can't have her, nobody will. He then throws her to the floor and puts his arm around her neck. Gracie then comes out and sees the two of them struggling and then runs up and grabs Mitch's hair while Slim tries to elbow him. Mitch then knocks Gracie to the floor and Slim manages to spray something into Mitch's eyes, causing him some pain. He then falls over a table.

Robbie pursues Slim in his much larger truck, causing her to drive over a trashcan and speed down the road. During this chase, he repeatedly slams his truck into the back of her car. She then drives through a fence and under a low overpass that his truck slams into (slightly injuring him and severely damaging his truck).

After Slim sneaks into Mitch's new house, he leaves for the morning but then returns moments later and nearly spots her and/or her bag as she hides.

The final, violent confrontation between Slim and Mitch might be unsettling and/or suspenseful to viewers.

After listening to Robbie trying to put the charming moves on Slim, Mitch stands up and says the guy was part of a bet to "get into your pants by noon tomorrow."

A guy tells Ginny that the reason he broke up with someone is that he's terrible in bed. Ginny then asks him if she can take him home right now. He balks when she mentions having kids, but then says that he's her guy when she says she thought they could have a brief and totally unsatisfying sexual encounter.

At their wedding reception, Mitch asks Slim if she's going to give him babies, she says yes, he asks how soon and she replies, "How soon can we get out of her?"

Slim walks into the bathroom and asks if she can join Mitch in the shower (as she lowers her top and we see her bare back). He says that he doesn't have time and we see his bare chest/back as well as a partial and visually vague view of his bare butt (through the steam and frosting of the shower door).

When Slim learns of Mitch having an affair, she says that she thought they were so happy and that "in bed we were…" (but she doesn't finish the thought). Later, Mitch comments about the reason he's having an affair: "It's not that our sex life hasn't been good. It's been great Slim."

Slim wears a low-cut tank top that shows some cleavage, and shows some again in a different outfit.

When Slim goes to see her biological father and says she's his daughter, he seems to think she's talking about Gracie and says that he hasn't had sex since 1995 and then adds, "Not in this country at least."

A large classic painting shows bare breasts.

Slim invites Joe to join her in bed (clothed) with Gracie, but reminds him not to forget the "house rules." They just snuggle, although they do briefly and passionately kiss (but nothing else happens). She does make a comment, however, that she's "had" him and that he's not that bad (the context of that is not exactly clear).

We see Mitch in bed with another woman (both are sleeping but previous sex is implied) who shows a great deal of thigh that she then places on him after he gets up and then returns to bed. The next morning, that woman shows a great deal of cleavage as she leaves and we learn that theirs was just a one-night stand.

Mitch's physical and mental abuse toward Slim and directly and indirectly toward Gracie, as well as his confirmed affairs, obviously puts a great deal of strain on their family life to the point that she takes the child and flees. We also see Gracie becoming ever more traumatized by the various events.

We hear that Slim's father is dead to her since he left when she was just a young child. Later, when they met, he's emotionally cold and even condescending to her (although he somewhat eventually comes around to helping her).

After Robbie objects to Mitch interfering with his goal of going out with Slim, Mitch grabs Robbie by the shirt in a menacing fashion.

As Slim yells at Mitch for having an affair, he slaps her across the face. Moments later, he punches her in the face, knocking her to the floor (resulting in a bloody scrape on her face).

With Ginny, Phil and another man waiting outside to drive her away, Slim tries to sneak out of the house with Gracie. This takes several minutes and ends with Mitch grabbing Slim by her hair and yanking her back. He then repeatedly kicks her on the ground, while Ginny and the men race toward the house with Phil using a baseball bat to break some glass to gain entry. They then find Slim on the floor, severely hurt and Mitch then holds a gun on all of them. He then fires a warning shot into the wall and then holds the gun to Phil's neck. After they get out of the house, we see a bruise on Slim's side (from where Mitch kicked her).

Mitch pushes a person aside on the sidewalk as he chases after Slim.

A man posing as an FBI agent holds a switchblade to Joe's neck and threatens to kill him. As he leaves, that man knocks some of Joe's belongings to the floor and then takes that knife and cuts open the back of his sofa.

Mitch slams Slim from wall to wall and says that if he can't have her, nobody will. He then throws her to the floor and puts his arm around her neck. Gracie then comes out and sees the two of them struggling and then runs up and grabs Mitch's hair while Slim tries to elbow him. Mitch then knocks Gracie to the floor and Slim manages to spray something into Mitch's eyes, causing him some pain. He then falls over a table.

Robbie pursues Slim in his much larger truck, causing her to drive over a trashcan and speed down the road. During this chase, he repeatedly slams his truck into the back of her car. She then drives through a fence (and then another) and under a low overpass that his truck slams into (slightly injuring him and severely damaging his truck).

Slim slaps Mitch several times, trying to get him to attack her (so that she can use her training on him). He then hits her and knocks her down, but she escapes. She then punches him in the face and he tries to hit her but misses and falls through some glass (cutting his hand). She then punches him again and he comes at her, pushing over a lamp. He tries to hit her again, but she eludes that attempt and hits him again.

He crashes through some glass, she knees him in the face and he then runs into a wall while trying to get her. She throws a lamp at him, he grabs her by the foot and she kicks him in the face. After she taunts him some more, he drives her back against a wall where she then pushes at his eyes with her fingers and he then has his hands around her throat.

She breaks free of the grip, elbows and knees him in the face, and he then cracks his head on a counter, knocking him unconscious. She then raises a large piece of marble to kill him, but can't do it.

Mitch hits Slim over the head with a lamp, momentarily dazing her. She then kicks him from the floor, and as she remembers all of the times he hit her (and knocked Gracie to the floor - all of which we see in flashback), she knees and punches him. She then kicks him back through a railing where he falls to the floor below and lands on a glass table that shatters beneath him (he presumably dies).